We all talk or like to mention the fish we catch, the reels and rods we use, the flies we tie and the multitude of other fishing related lies we like to tell each
other. But rarely do we hear much of the moments that make you clench the fist and say ''YES'' under your breath, while your seated quietly at your bench sipping a beer and generally keeping out of trouble or housework!

I guess for newer tiers it mastering a technique, finally getting the head on the fly right or getting 20 flies knocked out in one go without interruption.

I'd like to hear how everyone fairs with the little 'Yes' moment, if you'd all like to share. Photos optional. Even the 'experienced tyers among us (I like to think i'm experienced, since i started about 20 years ago, but to a 'career break' for 12 years) have the yes moment and tonight it happened for me.

So i guess I'll start!

For the last 6 weeks or so i've been tying classic wet flies, pretty religiously every night. Many of you have seen the flies i've tied as i've posted them in other threads, but tonight I guess it all came together (except on little mishap i noticed on another part of the fly)

The victory ????

A Horizontal Wing

Don Bastian's Original Olive Trout Fin

If you noticed (or not) all the other wet flies i've tied have had up-pointing wings!
I love the horizontal lie.
Thats me.

__________________
"Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn." ~Chuck Clark

Displayed above are some truly beautiful pieces of art! I've been an artist all my life, both fine art and music, I started private lessons in 5th grade and continued them all the way through a BA in Fine Art, minoring in Music (piano). Unfortunately, I'm in the group of artists that never have a "yes" moment. Any piece is never done for me, I just stop working it and simply sign it and turn out the lights.

Fly tying for me started in the early 90's with bass bugs in Florida and I'd have to say that my first real hurtle in tying was spinning deer hair and getting color transitions that had constant width all the way around the fly.

these days, I'm always pleased at myself when I tie a fly that I make up instead of copying a pattern, go fish it and get takes when its in with the proven standards....a cast of three flies.

We each have our victories, be them long term goals or short and sharp attempts at victory. Some of us need these to keep us going but I'm of the breed that once mastered, I'm done, my focus goes elsewhere. Lucky for me, painting, playing an instrument and fly tying/fishing will never be something I master though I will die of old age still trying.

Mastering is the end....I always feel there is something to improve, be it a wing, body, tip of a fly, or moving on to a more complex pattern. I started this project aiming to tie the Jock Scott, which I did, BADLY. Stepping back to the easier flies has afforded me the opportunity to work toward that goal again, rather than jump in at the deep end. Overconfidence was my downfall. If i've learned anything the last few weeks, it that time is on your side in terms of getting better. Slow and steady wins the race, or at least helps in improvements that are visible and tangible. Nothing will be perfect, but in the end its fun challenging yourself to push the limits

Wow, you guys can really tie. I was going to say my proudest moment was when I figured out how to use the whip finish tool that came with my first tying kit.

Slightly more seriously, it has to be when I figured out how to tie a stimulator with rubber legs and make it look almost professional. I'll try to post a pic later.

Peace.

That put a smile on my face....I just learned not that long ago how to use a whip finisher. I am still not great at it. I hand whip finished 100% of the time until recently. I just could not figure out that simple, maddening, little tool.

As a teen, my best friend and I used to fish a special river every summer- my family for go on vacation for 2 weeks, then his and we'd have a couple of days overlap... and he and I would get 4 solid weeks on the water.

We started a personal "One Fly" competition and would flip a coin to determine who went upstream and who went downstream, and we'd fish until we lost the fly or for a set period of time, then compare our catches (C&R after 10 trout, honor system).

The second year into this, we decided to create our own pattern, and fish only that fly. That year, my fly out caught his in number and size and all of my fish were natives, namely German Browns. The next day, we mixed it up- he gave me his fly, I gave him mine... and the results were the same.

So yeah, for me? It was the time a fly I created caught the most fish in a "One Fly" two consecutive days in use by two different fishermen.